Share This Story!

School Board member Erika Donalds suggested the district remove sexual orientation and gender identity from CCPS’ access to equal educational opportunity policy. Then she tweeted "homosexuality is a sin."

Lorrie Crisci and her son Alex are at the forefront of advancing LGBTQ protections in the Collier County Public School system. Alex, a junior at Barron Collier, created the Gay Straight Alliance, a school club started to give students a place to vent their concerns and to build relations with other students. "We encourage everyone to come and talk about their issues," said Alex. "I'm at a place where I'm comfortable and I can stand up for myself. I worry about other people more." A December school board ruling removed LGBTQ-specific language from anti-harassment policies and has caused some concern among advocates such as Alex's mother. "There's no policy specifically protecting them," said the elder Crisci in reference to LGBTQ students. "What's their agenda?" Seen at their Naples home Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017.(Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News)Buy Photo

Editor’s note: The Naples Daily News occasionally checks on people, organizations and issues that were in local news in recent months. Have an idea? Email dave.osborn@naplesnews.com or call 239-435-3435 and leave a brief message.

Lorrie Crisci’s Christmas tree is decorated with dozens of homemade ornaments, each commemorating a special day in her family’s history: her wedding date; the day her daughter got her braces off; the birthdays of their dogs Snowball, Cooper and Bandit.

One ornament, heart-shaped and rainbow-colored, is inscribed with the date Jan. 5, 2014 — the day her son Alex came out to her.

Crisci cried herself to sleep that night, not because she didn’t accept him, but because she feared the struggles that lay ahead for her now openly gay son.

The Naples Daily News wrote about the Criscis in October 2016 and the network of support they found through GLSEN, a national organization that aims to make schools safe for LGBTQ students. The group’s Collier chapter was founded in 2015 and supports Collier County Public School Gay-Straight Alliance clubs, which welcome students of all gender and sexual identities.

Buy Photo

Lorrie Crisci and her son Alex are at the forefront of advancing LGBTQ protections in the Collier County Public School system. This Christmas tree ornament, heart-shaped and rainbow-colored, is inscribed with the date Jan. 5, 2014 — the day Alex came out to her..(Photo: Luke Franke/Naples Daily News)

Since the Daily News last wrote about the Criscis, Alex, now 17 and a high school junior, has become more comfortable in his skin and his mother worries less about his safety and well-being. But recent actions by a Collier County School Board member have caused her concern.

At a Nov. 14 School Board meeting, board member Erika Donalds suggested the district remove sexual orientation and gender identity from CCPS’ access to equal educational opportunity policy. Donalds cited concerns that the inclusion of those terms may open the district to litigation if students are denied the right to access the facilities or sports teams of their choosing, such as those that don’t correspond with their biological gender.

Donalds noted there have been no issues with the district’s current policy of addressing the needs of trans students on a case-by-case basis.

After a discussion, all board members agreed to remove each individual group delineated in the policy and replace them with a sweeping statement that provides “equal educational access to district programs and opportunities for all students consistent with state and federal law.” The district’s other anti-discrimination policies were not changed.

Crisci said she was also taken aback by Donalds’ recent tweets.

“Homosexuality is a sin just like any other sexual sin, and all of us sinners need forgiveness & mercy for our shortcomings,” Donalds wrote in a Dec. 8 post. “Thanks to Jesus no one has to go to hell. We can repent and ask forgiveness of our sins, whatever they are.”

Mainstream Christianity doesn’t teach that. Homosexuality is a sin just like any other sexual sin, and all of us sinners need forgiveness & mercy for our shortcomings. Thanks to Jesus no one has to go to hell. We can repent and ask forgiveness of our sins, whatever they are.

In another tweet, written on Dec. 8, Donalds suggested parents were intentionally sending their LGBTQ children to Christian schools to “disrupt the program.”

Several people responded to the posts opposing Donalds’ statements. When reached for comment, Donalds affirmed her right to express her religious views and said it was wrong she was “bullied and intimidated” for doing so.

“For LGBTQ students to see something like this from a school board member could be really hurtful,” Crisci said. “(Donalds) was elected to represent everybody.”

Accepting students is a different story, perhaps. Again, parents are the ones choosing the school. The exception would be if parents were sending their LGBTQ child to a Christian school specifically to disrupt the program, which unfortunately we are seeing in some cases.

According to GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey, 23 percent of students in Florida reported they regularly heard school staff make homophobic remarks.

At Collier GLSEN’s monthly meetings, Crisci said many students say they don’t feel safe in school, particularly those who are transgender.

But Crisci also acknowledged the progress she’s seen. Every CCPS high school now has a Gay-Straight Alliance club, and more than 20 local churches welcome members of the LGBTQ community.

Looking back on her son's journey, Crisci recalled the struggles he went through — the bullying, the depression and the uneasiness of being a gay boy in a conservative town. But she also recognized how far he had come.

“He’s definitely matured, and with that maturity came more confidence,” she said.

Sitting on the same couch where Alex came out to her four years ago, the two remembered the moment fondly.

Crisci remembers holding back tears as Alex let his out.

Alex remembers the overwhelming anxiety, and then, the relief.

“You took the weight off my shoulders,” he tells her.

GLSEN meets the second Monday of every month at 5 p.m. at the United Church of Christ, 5200 Crayton Road in Naples.